Judo Chokes (shimewaza) -- choking techniques

"Different Chokes for Different Folks"

by Neil Ohlenkamp

The practice of choking and strangulation techniques is a subtle art that
requires more attention to detail than many other skills in Judo. Yet
most texts on Judo do little to enlighten the conscientious
student on the finer points of choking and strangulation. Most in fact imply
that
any pressure on the neck that makes the opponent give up is a
good choke.

For example the general description of choking techniques in
Kodokan Judo by Jigoro Kano is "you use your hands, arms, or
legs on the opponent's collar or lapels to apply pressure to his
neck or throat." This excellent comprehensive manual of Judo
does not identify where on the neck the pressure is to be applied
or the most important objective of these techniques, which is to subdue
violent opponents with temporary unconsciousness.

In Judo practice there are three basic ways of choking or strangling an
opponent, as well as some combinations of the three:

Compression of the carotid arteries on one or both sides of the
neck restricting the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.

Compression of the windpipe (trachea) stopping or reducing the
flow of air to the lungs.

Compression of the chest and lungs preventing the opponent
from inhaling (often used during pinning techniques).

These methods are sometimes distinguished by different terms
and may be referred to as choking, strangling, wringing, or
neck locks. However they are grouped together as a class
of grappling techniques called shime waza. Shime means constriction
and waza means technique
so this group of techniques are all those involving constriction. The english
term "choking" in Judo technically refers to the constriction or blockage of
the windpipe which prevents breathing, and "strangulation" technically means
compression
of
the
arteries
to
prevent
blood
from reaching the brain. However, in this article and in most Judo classes the
term choking techniques is synonymous with all of the kinds of shimewaza.

All of these methods should be practiced and are useful for
various situations. However the first choking method (strangulation) is stressed
in Judo and is the most commonly taught in Judo classes around
the world. Compression of the carotid arteries is desirable
because it requires the least force, is the quickest acting of the
choking techniques, is the most universally effective against all
opponents, and it is most in keeping with the efficiency
principle of Judo, "maximum effect with minimum effort."
Medical tests have established that the amount of pressure
needed to occlude the arteries is six times less than the pressure
needed to collapse the airway. Directly stopping the blood
supply to the brain also results in loss of consciousness about
six times faster than indirectly reducing oxygen in the brain
through restricting breathing or the flow of air to the lungs.

Carotid strangulations are also safer and involve less pain than the
other choking methods making them easier to practice and to
acquire sufficient skill to be confident in their use. Besides
making them more effective, this makes them more compatible
with another principle of Judo, "mutual welfare and benefit." A
skillfully executed technique will give the Judo student the
ability to produce unconsciousness or submission with little pain
or forewarning to the person receiving the technique.

A good strangulation hold should render the opponent unconsciousness
without injury or significant pain in a matter of seconds
regardless of whom the opponent is. The most basic
requirements for applying such an effective strangulation are:

Make sure your own body always has complete freedom of
action so that you are in the best position for the technique you
intend to use and you are flexible enough to be able to respond
to your opponent's attempts to escape. Your position should be
stable so that in applying the technique you can use your entire
body.

Lead your opponent into a position in which it is most difficult
to put up resistance, and control all of his or her actions. Your
opponent must be unstable and under your control as much as
possible. Very often this means stretching out your opponent's
body backwards.

Train your hands to get an accurate hold the minute you begin a
technique, make your choke work in a very brief time, and once
you begin the pressure refrain from continually releasing to
adjust your position. Your techniques will have much greater
effect if you are firmly resolved not to let your opponent get
away but to continue until the end without slackening.
Constancy of pressure, rather than extreme force, is what is
called for. Excessive reliance on strength would indicate a
defect in the technique since very little pressure is needed to
compress an artery and render a person unconscious.

Entire books can be written on the key points and details of
choke holds. Students of Judo around the world have been
modifying and refining these techniques for a century, testing
them in contests as hard fought and serious as Olympic
competition. They have developed many variations in the
details of how best to utilize the legs, hips, chest, head, arms and
hands to maximize the effect of the choke. In some chokes the
hands and arms may use the lapel as if it were a thin cord to
encircle the throat, in others they may twist or rotate powerfully
into the neck, and in yet others they may pull or push to apply
pressure directly to the carotid triangle or trachea. Even the
same basic choke can be applied effectively in multiple ways
depending on the position, relative size and movement of the
opponent as well as the training, strengths and preferences of the
individual.

Explaining the techniques in detail is beyond the scope of this article but as a brief reference, some of the basic chokes of Kodokan Judo are:

Nami juji jime or normal cross lock from the front with arms crossed grasping the collars with the thumb inside.

Gyaku juji jime or reverse cross lock from the front with the fingers inside.

Kata juji jime or half cross lock with one hand fingers-in and one hand thumb-in.

Hadaka jime or naked lock applied from the rear with the
forearm across the throat.

Okuri eri jime or sliding collar lock applied from the rear with one hand reaching around the neck grasping the collar with the other hand reaching under the arm to the opposite collar.

Kataha jime or single wing lock from the rear with one hand around the neck to the collar but the other hand under the arm and behind the neck.

Katate jime or one hand choke from the front or side reach
across the throat to the collar.

Ryote jime or two hand choke from the front grabbing the
collars with the thumbs inside and turning your fists into the sides of the neck.

Sode guruma jime or sleeve wheel choke from the front
reaching around the back of the neck with one hand and across the front with the other and
grabbing your own sleeves.

Tsukkomi jime or thrust choke from the front grasping a lapel
and pushing the fist directly into the side of the neck.

Jigoku jime (hell strangle) from the rear with one leg and one
hand across the throat while the other leg and hand controls the opponent's arms.

Sankaku jime or triangle choke from the front using the legs in a figure-four position around the neck and arm.

Safety Rules

Choking techniques must be taught and supervised by a
qualified instructor. Since the Judo syllabus has always
contained more well-developed choking techniques than any
other martial art and they are practiced in real contest situations,
Judo instructors usually have extensive experience in the proper
application of chokes. Judo is well known for the "Judo choke",
but many other martial arts are now teaching choke holds
without the wealth of background and experience most Judo
experts have. Chokes are potentially fatal and should be treated
seriously. As taught in Judo though they are a temporary
incapacitating technique of short duration whose proper
execution should be quite harmless. Judo choking techniques
have been used in Judo classes and at thousands of Judo
tournaments all over the world for more than 100 years without
one reported fatality. It is only with the appropriate emphasis on
safety and supervision that this record can be maintained.

Care should be taken when teaching chokes to children
whose physiology is different and naturally less developed
than adults. In most Judo tournaments in the U.S. chokes are
not permitted for children under 13 years old. Children
approaching this age may be prepared by learning basic chokes
with escapes and defenses, always under strict supervision.
Feeling different chokes being applied in practice to you and
learning when to submit is an important form of preparation for
tournament and for learning how to choke others. At this very
young age, and in fact for beginners of all ages, the emphasis
should be on recognizing the effect of chokes and protecting
yourself while always avoiding extreme pressure and
unconsciousness in practice.

Chokes may be practiced from either a standing position or
on the ground but the ground is inherently safer. When
applying a standing choke with the intention of gaining the full
effect you should recognize that the victim will not be able to
remain standing. In tournament and practice the person being
choked should always be immediately taken to the ground for
better control and to prevent an accidental fall which could
injure the athlete as they go unconscious.

Learning when to give up is an important part of training to
avoid the risk of unnecessary periods of unconsciousness.
While judoka should not give up any opportunity to escape from
a choke, they must also be trained to surrender in a timely
fashion when necessary by recognizing when defeat is inevitable
and when further resistance will result in unconsciousness.
Once you allow yourself to be choked unconscious your life is
literally in your opponent's hands, and the practice of any
martial art requires that the student learn ways of avoiding this
condition of ultimate helplessness. Since it is virtually
impossible to speak while being choked, the universal signal for
submission is tapping of the opponent or mat repeatedly.

The most important safety rule when applying a choking
technique is to release pressure immediately when the
opponent submits. When applying a choke one should be
sensitive enough, and have sufficient control over the opponent,
to recognize when he or she loses consciousness so that you can
immediately release pressure. Loss of consciousness can be
detected easily by the sudden lack of resistance and generally
limp feeling of the opponent's body as well as the color of the
face and the eyes closing. Sometimes if the choke is held too
long convulsions may begin, but the effects of the choke should
generally be recognized earlier with proper training and
supervision.

Resuscitation Techniques (Kappo)

Immediately release the victim and lay him or her flat so that
blood may flow naturally back to the brain. Placing the victim
on his or her side, with the head resting on the arm, will prevent
vomit aspiration and facilitate breathing if necessary. Monitor
the victim closely to make sure the airway is open and the victim
is breathing. The opponent will generally regain consciousness
spontaneously and be unharmed. If the athlete does not regain
consciousness in 20 to 30 seconds and remains unresponsive to
your efforts to revive him or her, medical assistance should be
sought immediately.

Judo instructors should obtain CPR training and certification for
use in case of a breathing or other emergency. Even without
chokes Judo is a strenuous physical activity that carries some
risks for which the instructor should be prepared. Try to awaken
the patient with vocal or physical stimuli such as tapping or
shouting. Check for breathing by putting your face close to the
patient's mouth and looking at the chest, listening for air
exchange, and feeling for a breath. Keep the airway open and
initiate rescue breathing if there is no breathing. If a pulse is
absent, commence chest compressions.

There are many old methods of traditional resuscitation that can
also assist the victim in recovery. If the outcome is less than
desirable these interventions may not be defensible in U.S.
courts. They have generally been replaced by CPR which is
based on more modern medical knowledge. Among sports
coaches and medical professionals in the U.S., CPR is
commonly recognized as the appropriate response to a medical
emergency. Nevertheless the traditional forms of resuscitation
are considered advanced techniques of Judo and instructors may
wish to study them to complete their training for historical
purposes or for use in special circumstances.

Traditional resuscitation techniques include:

The direct massage of the carotid triangle on the neck to open up
a collapsed artery or to manually stimulate the carotid sinus.

Methods of assisting the victim in waking up and focussing
attention such as slapping the victim, striking the sole of the
foot, or yelling.

Methods of inducing or simulating breathing through massage
of the chest or diaphragm, expanding and contracting the lungs.
Three such methods of Kodokan Judo are Sasoi Katsu, the
inductive method, Eri Katsu, the lapel method, and So Katsu,
the composite method.

The Kodokan teaches Sasoi Katsu with the patient sitting before
you. From behind, bend your right knee and place the kneecap
against the patient's spine. Spread your fingers and place your
hands on his or her lower chest, hooking your fingers under the
lower ribs. Pull back as if opening the ribs to either side, put
your weight on the shoulders to bend the body back, and press
with your right knee. This will draw air into the lungs. When
the ribs have opened as far as they will go, release them. Air will
be exhaled from the lungs. Repeat the process slowly and
regularly.

For traditional Eri Katsu kneel to the right of the victim and
support his or her upper body with your left arm around the
shoulder. Put the palm of your right hand on the abdomen, just
above the navel, and press up against the solar plexus or pit of
the stomach. This will cause the diaphragm to rise, expelling air
from the lungs. Reinforce the action by bending the upper body
forward with your left arm. Gently release your pressure to
allow air to enter the lungs. Repeat this procedure until
respiration is restored.

For So Katsu lay the victim on his or her back and kneel astride
the hips. Place your hands, fingers spread apart and pointing
toward his or her head, on the bottom of the rib cage. Lean
forward and press against the ribs to make him or her exhale,
then relax the pressure. Repeat this procedure, rocking forward
and back, until the victim can breathe without assistance.
Similarly this can be done with the victim on his stomach.

As with other martial arts and most aggressive competitive
sports, Judo practice includes the risk of serious injury. Of all
the types of techniques practiced in Judo however, choking
techniques have proven to be among the safest resulting in
relatively few injuries.

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